Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
A video clip posted by the Roaring Kitty account on social media platform X has signaled the potential farewell of Keith Gill, an influential figure in the 2021 GameStop short squeeze, just as GameStop shares experience renewed volatility.
While GameStop shares surged at the start of last week, the stock price fell on a potential offering. An exit by Gill once again on social media could dampen the rally in the video game retailer's share price further.
What Happened: The X account of Roaring Kitty took the world by storm last week, posting dozens of movie clips and signaling an interest in GameStop Corporation (NYSE:GME) shares once again.
It appears that the X account of the Roaring Kitty, which is unknown if it still belongs to Gill, is saying goodbye once again.
The Roaring Kitty account made its first post in three years with a meme posted on Sunday, May 12.
After dozens of posts, the account may have said farewell on Friday, May 17 with a movie clip from the 1982 blockbuster film "E.T." The movie clip shows the alien creature E.T. boarding a spaceship to return home.
Just as E.T. "phones home" and returns to his home planet, Roaring Kitty could be doing the same and once again exiting social media after a brief one-week stint.
The movie clip from "E.T." was accompanied by the music of Supertramp's "Goodbye Stranger."
"Goodbye stranger it's been nice, hope you find your paradise. Tried to see your point of view. Hope your dreams will all come true," the lyrics of the song say.
Related Link: Who Is Roaring Kitty? Why Does His Return To Social Media Matter For GameStop Stock?
Why It's Important: GameStop shares closed on Friday, May 10 at $17.46. Thanks to the meme shared by Roaring Kitty and a recent increase in interest in the video game retailer, shares opened for trading at $26.34 on Monday, May 13. Shares traded between $24.77 and $38.20 on Monday and saw increased volume and volatility.
On Tuesday, May 14, shares of GameStop traded between $36.00 and $64.84, again hitting new 52-week highs, and trading near $80 in the pre-market trading session.
By Wednesday and Thursday, shares had begun falling due to lowered interest in the stock and a potential shorter rally than was seen in 2021. On Friday, GameStop pre-announced first-quarter financial results that were below analysts' estimates.
The video game retailer also announced an at-the-market offering of up to 45 million shares.
GameStop shares fell Friday on the news, trading between $19.70 and $22.41 on the day.
Roaring Kitty saw his followers go from 470,513 to 1,345,063 from Sunday, May 12 to Sunday, May 19 according to data from Social Blade.
Benzinga previously wrote on five things that could end the GameStop rally. Among the items were a share offering by GameStop and the X account not being Gill. While it may remain unknown if it was Gill posting the video clips, his exit from social media again could impact the rally.
Another one of the five items listed by Benzinga was investors turning to a new shiny object and losing interest in GameStop. This could be exacerbated this week by the share offering and the potential end of Roaring Kitty’s influential posts, prompting investors to seek out the next big play.
GME Price Action: GameStop shares are down 11.2% to $19.73 on Monday, versus a 52-week trading range of $9.95 to $64.83. GameStop shares are up 21.4% year-to-date in 2024 and down 7% over the last year.
Read Next: EXCLUSIVE: Citron Research’s Andrew Left Is Short GameStop Again
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